Tuesday, February 15, 2005

schumann and what not.

Learning the Schumann piano sonata #2 in G minor. And omg, it's such a bitch to play it.

It has all these alternating octaves, and disjunct leaps of one-and-a-half octaves (13 white notes), and the fast block chords and voicing.. I'm going MAD.

I've got hold of two recordings of Schumann's Piano Sonata #2 in G minor. One by Percy Grainger, and the other by Ian Hobson. I couldn't find the year that Grainger recorded, but presumably in the 1st half of the 20th century since he died in 1961. Hobson recorded his in 1991.

And so. It's nice to know that Percy Grainger stumbles over the same problematic places. It's also very reassuring to know that it's playable (gasp!) after listening to Ian Hobson's virtually-perfect recording.

On the other hand, it's far more enjoyable to play Schumann as compared to Birtwistle. I've been spending hours counting quavers, semiquavers, and demisemiquavers. And trying to sub-divide them. There's an especially crazy part where I have to play 4 quavers in the time span of 4.5 quaver beats in the L.H. against 5 notes in the R.H.

Don't ask.

The winner has to be Ligeti. Which idiot writes music for both hands in different keys, where the R.H. plays only black notes and the L.H. white? And may I add that they are in different time signatures?! I hate it, because I instinctively add black notes to the L.H., or white notes to the R.H. and I've to start all over again.

As you can tell, I'm getting increasingly fed up of practising, especially when there is no improvement to be seen.

The only thing I'm getting out of practising piano are skinnier fingers and a bigger butt from sitting down all day.

Oh. And Happy belated Valentine's Day to all.

blueprint

I will like to spend my days, as though they are my own, which I mostly end up doing in halves, for duty beckons, and I am answering its clarion call. Soon enough! I am also a veteran procrastinator.

fresh monodies

the problems of being Lynne.
why me?
first fall of 2005.
wussy slimeball.
amused.
fuming.
procrastination and maria.
living in harmony.
Dido and Aeneas: "a lesbian opera"???
'depressing', not 'sentimental'.

previous rants

August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
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November 2006
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March 2009
April 2009
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June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
November 2010
January 2011
February 2011
August 2011
October 2011
May 2013

treatises on life

arty jen
betty boop
carmentica
charming-linn
chasing snowy cars
cheeky lynn
cheryliciously glam
clean and cute
cyclist-mad bass
darling dominic
feisty jing
fellow ditz-sista/porkSTAR
hail mary!
hell's kitchen
hero on the beach
h-Euge heart
hunky lenny
lipgloss queen
little cheryl
live n learn, baby
lolita lou
loony loon
mr popular
musically dan
m y s t j
phringe
princess tania
roger smurf
runaway pigeon
sabotage king jeremiah
sibling angst1
sibling angst2
spector dan
spunky tian
steffy bunny
sun-sunzzz
teeny wee-nee
weeeee, leonard!
yangtze yang'en

frivolous pursuits

for shallow ppl
for very geeky ppl
for the truly bored
spun prose
binary thoughts
past imprints
some stamps
montage of images
other memories

mulling over

And there were phlegmatic souls.